My vote still matters

I emailed a candidate this morning after casting my ballot at Precinct 4103, where the poll workers were extremely polite and everything appeared to be working smoothly. Of course, it was just slightly after 7 a.m. when I voted.

In my email I said:

“I voted for you this morning. I must tell you, going into the race I thought it was time for a different type of voice and had planned to vote for (another candidate). He lost it. … Thank you for stepping out and running. Giving you my vote means a great deal to me. I hope it does to you, too.”

I congratulate the candidates. God bless you all. You are the embodiment and manifestation of our forefathers’ vision that the collective wisdom of the people was more powerful than the the wisdom of the elite, though there are some who still have not learned that lesson even today.

Only one of you in each race can get my vote, but in most cases you have won my respect and gratitude, at least those of you who ran with public service and not personal gain in mind.

I saw a candidate out on the street on my ride into the office this morning who will win hands down. I would be willing to bet a quarter on it. Yet, there he was at the corner of Magnolia and Tennessee waving to drivers and holding a sign.

I had already voted for him, but was grateful he did not take my vote for granted. That is how it should be.

Today, my staff and I will try to live up to your expectations on how our coverage should be, with updates from the field and reports on balloting all day. This evening, starting about 7:15 p.m., Natalie Pierre and I will hold down the news anchor desk with help from many live on Tallahassee.com.

At 7:30 p.m., we’ll be joined by a panel of experts, including people from our citizen advisory editorial board, and many others. We’ll break into our discussions with news whenever it happens and live video from reporters with the candidates.

We’ll also have reporters working the phones and following election results on websites. For updates or to share your views and news, use the Twitter hashtag #TDelect. You can also follow our social media posts on Tallahassee.com with our posts on Storify and Postano.

We’ll have dozens of people working to bring you the best Election Night coverage, because voting and democracy matter, now and always.

You can send comments by clicking on Bob Gabordi’s blog on Tallahassee.com, e-mailing him at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com and Twitter @bgabordi. You can also find links to his blogs on Facebook. His mailing address is Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302. His telephone number is (850) 599-2177.

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About The Author

You can send comments by clicking on Bob Gabordi’s blog on Tallahassee.com or Move.Tallahassee.com, e-mailing him at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com and Twitter @bgabordi. You can also find links to his blogs on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. His mailing address is Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302. His telephone number is 850-599-2177.